Hidden Figures is a 2017 film directed by Theodore Melfi, and starring Taraji Henson, Janelle Monae, and Octavia Spencer. It follows the relatively unknown African American women who worked at NASA during the 60s. Hidden Figures has some very interesting and factual material to work with, and kudos to it for bringing some of the achievement’s of these women to light. However, the main character is very bland when not interacting with her two companions.

Hidden Figures follows the true story of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn, three women who did calculations for NASA on the John Glenn mission. However, this movie mainly focuses on Katherine Johnson, who did calculations for the trajectory of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere

The chemistry between these three is great. It feels very natural and real. All three actors do great in their roles around each other, as well as their solo scenes. The rest of the acting in this movie is so-so. Mahershala Ali is very likable as Katherine’s love interest Jim, and their relationship throughout the movie feels sweet, if a bit rushed. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, Kevin Costner and Jim Parsons are simply boring and do virtually nothing with their roles.

The biggest problem with hidden figures is that the leading character is incredibly boring. The main character, Katherine, when not with her other two halves is simply uninteresting, and it’s in no way the fault of the actress, it’s simply how she was written. She has one good monologue that ends up being a great scene, but for the rest of the movie she’s flat. There’s virtually no interesting character traits about her. And it’s a shame, because both Mary and Dorothy shine when on their own, and both have definable traits and characteristics. If they had the written the main character like they did her friends, this movie would be much better.

Hidden Figure’s has it’s heart in the right place. It sets out to tell a story about crucial unknown people that were instrumental in getting man to space. The movie itself however, is simply boring and at times cliche. Still, it deserves to be watched, if for nothing else, simply because these women deserve recognition.